Friday, November 13, 2009

I cannot WAIT to see this show today. You all know how I feel about bringing in more miniorities into our party. Until the tea parties there really wasn't much of a venue for black conservatives to speak before a wide audience. Now people like my friends, Kevin Jackson of TheBlackSphere and Claver of RagingElephants.org are speaking at tea parties all over the country. They can hardly keep up with the demand for them.

I have found it interesting that many of my liberal commenters are always surprised to learn that Pres. Obama kept the Patriot Act. It seems after Bush the leftwing blogosphere, with few exceptions, went strangely quiet on the matter. There is now a Dec. 31st deadline to extend key provisions of the bill. Obama is backing it all the way:

The Obama administration is standing firm in its support of several George W. Bush-era Patriot Act powers in the face of sharp criticism from civil rights groups, liberal Democrats and a Dec. 31 deadline to extend key provisions of the bill.

The Justice Department recently reiterated its request for Congress to extend with few changes key provisions of the Patriot Act: sections that allow roving wiretaps on multiple phones, seizing of business records and a never-used authority to spy on non-Americans suspected of being terrorists even though they have no connection to a recognized terrorist group.

The two remaining temporary provisions of the PATRIOT Act that are supposed to sunset, but Obama wants to extend, are "Section 206, the counter-terror "roving wiretap" that allows the Feds to tap any communication device of a target without having to specify who or what they are targeting, and Section 215, the measure that allows the government to grab "any tangible thing" – with accompanying gag orders – including library records and other personal information with a secret FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court order. Also expiring is the so-called "lone wolf" provision of the related Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA), which allows the government to obtain secret FISA court orders against individuals who are not tied to any terrorist group or organization, but who might be suspected of terrorism."

The irony of this of course is how the far left and liberals went batdung crazy over Pres. Bush and the Patriot Act. Bush was the devil incarnate for allowing it. The leftwing blogosphere was beside itself.

Let's take a peek back at 2006:

Liberty Streetsums up Gonzales' testimony: Just another day in the office, helpin his boss to subvert the Constitution and end the American experiment with democracy."

Corrente: "Of course, under Republican tyranny there is no Constitutional government, so the Fourth Amendment is no longer in effect." "These guys have no limits or boundaries at all. That means they're already doing warrantless domestic surveillance--with the targets presumably taken from their list of traitors and possible traitors, which probably includes, oh, the entire Beltway and who hasn't actually sworn fealty to Bush's person, at this point."

Kevin Drum "Once the public accepts the idea that domestic-to-international calls can be tapped at the whim of the administration -- without a warrant and without bothering to show probable cause -- they're a lot less likely to be upset at the prospect of domestic-to-domestic calls being tapped too. The frog is simmering."

Obsidian Wings "So: according to our Attorney General, the nation's top law enforcement officer, it might be legal for the President to authorize the government to listen to your purely domestic conversations without getting a warrant, without consulting a judge, without obeying any of the safeguards that our system puts in place."

Dan Froomkin (Washington Bureau Chief for the Huffington Post) This is from 2008: "Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program may go down in history as the most egregious assault on American civil liberties since Watergate".

TalkLeft: "Thanks to Suburban Guerilla, Mark Crispin Miller and Save the USA for pointing out Section 605 of the House version of the Patriot Act renewal legislation. It calls for the creation of a Federal Police Force. Your imperial presidency at work.

Funny how in reviewing all those blogs today I see no mention of this this present "imperial presidency." It seems that this "most egregious assault on American civil liberties since Watergate" isn't so egregious to the left when one of their own sits in the oval office.

Clinton looked out at the diverse crowd and said it was different than a crowd of white men that might be seen on the TV show "Mad Men."

"You ever watch that TV series 'Mad Men?' " Clinton asked. "If I keep watching this program, will I ever find a happy person? Great television. Good drama. But a lot of really painful reminders in that show about how black people were supposed to run the elevators... were supposed to ask permission before they get on an elevator. The way women were treated is appalling, and only occasionally funny to me."

Gee, I'm glad that the appalling treatment of women on the show is only occasionally funny to you. Can you believe this??? This is like Chris Brown lamenting a show that portrays domestic abuse.

Did Clinton really think that people had just forgotten HIS appalling treatment of women?

And yes, that’s a direct quote from the Boston Globe’s news section, not an editorial — and frankly, I’m not sure which would have been more surprising. It seems that the brush with death on Morrissey Boulevard has sharpened the objectivity of the Globe, which is still owned by the New York Times, at least enough to add Massachusetts to the states discovering that the Obama administration’s claims of jobs “saved or created” are fraudulent:

While Massachusetts recipients of federal stimulus money collectively report 12,374 jobs saved or created, a Globe review shows that number is wildly exaggerated. Organizations that received stimulus money miscounted jobs, filed erroneous figures, or claimed jobs for work that has not yet started.

Read the rest with details about this "exaggeration" or as normal people would call..lies.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The left has gotten a lot of "giggles" over the term "teabaggers" in describing Americans who attend the tea parties. For those of you who don't know, teabagging is a perverse sexual term. It is interesting to me that the left not only knew the term, but seemed very comfortable using it. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

I actually think in the video she was trying to find a way to get out of saying "teabagger" and just go with teabaggist so that her crowd wouldn't make fun of her for agreeing to not say it. Heaven forbid she tell Maddow (the cool kid in their high school of punditry) that she had promised a conservative not to slur good people with that term anymore. She might be ostracized by the popular kids at Lefty High!! It's clear she is being snarky there, but who knows? Maybe she won't actually use the term anymore. If she doesn't I will give her kudos.

I expect this kind of immature name calling from the blogosphere, and now it doesn't even surprise me with the mainstream media on air talent. But I have to admit my jaw dropped when the President of the United States used this sexual slur, AND the former President of the United States as well.

Mr. Obama, during his private pep talk to Democrats, recognized Mr. Owens’s election and then posed a question to the other lawmakers. According to Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, who supports the health care bill, the president asked, “Does anybody think that the teabag, anti-government people are going to support them if they bring down health care? All it will do is confuse and dispirit” Democratic voters “and it will encourage the extremists.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Clinton described the ongoing tea party protests against the Democratic agenda as a sign their party was making progress.

Whitehouse quoted Clinton arguing: "The reason the tea-baggers are so inflamed is because we are winning."

Both statements are completely without class.

I can't remember a time in Presidential history when a President has slurred so many of the American people in such a way. Even on his worst day, President Bush would never have used such a term about the anti war protesters, much less just those that disagreed with him politically.

Of course one might expect such a thing from Clinton, a man know for his sexual perverse ways, but I must say I am shocked at President Obama. I may disagree with him politically, but I never thought he would ever say such a thing.

There never seems to be the right words that could express the gratitude I feel for our veterans. My father, long gone, was a veteran. For those of you who have read me for a while know his story and know that the Army literally saved his life.

I love our military from the bottom of heart.

Jim Bell sent me this from the Lufkin Daily News. I think it expresses what so many feel. A soldier who wonders, "Why not me?"

I spent an entire career in the military. Not once was I called upon to risk my life in combat. I still don't know why. Every veteran can tell you, once you don the uniform, you're government property. The old joke regarding Uncle Sam's motto went, "Once you sign, your butt's all mine."

So looking at these memorials to the men an women who died in action, I wondered again, ''Why not me?'' What made me so different that I would be allowed to live long enough to raise a family, watch my children grow and to stand and watch sunsets over the water -- when these young men never had the same chance? Why wasn't it ever my turn to leap from a landing craft trying to make it to a beach, knowing my next step was probably my last? Why wasn't I ever asked to ride in a Hummer somewhere in the Middle East while waiting on some IED to send me back to my own veteran's cemetery marker? Why didn't my parents ever have to experience a visit from an officer and a chaplain telling them the next time they saw me I'd be in a box? Why not me?

In the movie "Saving Private Ryan," Tom Hanks plays Capt. John Miller, an Army Ranger whose squad is assigned the task of rescuing the last surviving Ryan brother. At the end, Miller lies mortally wounded; with his dying breath, he tells the young Ryan, "Earn this. Earn it."

Maybe that's my answer. My gift -- any veteran's gift -- from those fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines was the chance to earn the right to live a longer life. All we have to do is earn it. Live the best we can. Remind ourselves why we weren't ever called to die in combat.

It's because the people in these cemeteries did it for us. They offered us the gifts of life and freedom.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

It really was. He said all the right things in all the right ways. Believe it or not I do like to write good things about him. I really do want him to do the right things. Every single night, since he became President, my children and I have prayed for God to bless him.

Here are some excerpts from his speech:

On the killer:

"No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice -- in this world and the next."

On the soldiers who died:

"Their lives speak to the strength, the dignity and the decency of those who serve, and that is how they will be remembered."

To loved ones left behind:

"Here is what you must also know: Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- that is their legacy,"

Since Pres. Obama and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton didn't see fit to mention President Reagan in their addresses on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, I thought many of you might like to read Marco Rubio's take (He is running for the Senate against RNC backed Gov. Crist). It's a good one:

I will never forget my parents’ reaction the day the Berlin Wall came down 20 years ago today. Having lost their country to Fidel Castro’s Communism, they had spent 30 years divided from their homeland, friends, and relatives — just as the Wall had done to millions in Europe.

Although the Wall was an ocean away from my family’s native Cuba and their adopted country of America, its existence was the most concrete symbol of Communism’s presence in the world — a reminder of its ability to divide families, turn neighbor against neighbor, use censorship to impose intellectual darkness, cripple economies, and deprive humans of their basic dignity and freedoms.

Especially for my parents’ generation of Cuban exiles, whose hopes and dreams were shattered by Communism, the Wall’s fall was an historic event they questioned would ever come. It was a day of celebration and rekindled hope that all lands within Communism’s grip would soon be free as well.

Twenty years later, we know the fall of the Berlin Wall signaled the dramatic advent of liberty in Europe. Today’s commemoration marks an opportunity to applaud all we have gained, while reminding us of what remains to be done to tear down other oppressive walls that still stand. America’s role in this effort cannot be underestimated.

Economically, we cannot allow Washington’s borrow-and-spend binges to make our commitment to freedom and human rights subservient to our debt holders. We must also make it a continued priority to strengthen our trade and commercial relationships with allies like Colombia that are surrounded by increasingly autocratic, repressive, and hostile neighbors.

Militarily, as Ronald Reagan said, “Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.” A free and secure world requires a strong America led by our brave men and women in uniform. America’s commitment to the defense of our allies should never waver. Today, as we consider the future of Europe, I am particularly concerned about President Obama’s recent decision to scrap our commitment to a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Diplomatically, we must not confuse a desire for security and the promotion of democratic values as mutually exclusive goals. When freedom-loving Iranians peacefully took to the streets and Twitter to protest an illegitimate election, we should have been both defenders of the oppressed while continuing to insist on an end to Iran’s nuclear program.

In their time, Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan were among the many world leaders who seized the opportunity to highlight Communism’s failures. In doing so, they helped make millions of oppressed people more self-aware of their intrinsic dignity, more confident that their pursuit of freedom was justified, and more hopeful that they were not alone in their struggles.

As the world celebrates today’s 20th anniversary, we must not forget to also stand in solidarity with those still laboring to bring about the fall of other oppressive walls that remain today in places like North Korea, Iran, China, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela, among many others.

Monday, November 09, 2009

I believe we should take great pleasure in the fact that perhaps the single greatest act of liberation during my lifetime came about as the result of a screw-up by a bureaucrat acting as an agent of one of the most repressive Communist regimes in human history.

Secretary of State Clinton is in Germany today, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

I don't think much of Hillary Clinton, but one thing I do know. If she had been President, she would have been there today as President. I think she is proud to be there. So good on her for that.

According to Johnson, the non-profit was struggling under the weight of a tough economy, and changing it’s business model from one that pushed prevention, to one that focused on abortion.

“It seemed like maybe that’s not what a lot of people were believing any more because that’s not where the money was. The money wasn’t in family planning, the money wasn’t in prevention, the money was in abortion and so I had a problem with that,” said Johnson.

Johnson said she was told to bring in more women who wanted abortions, something the Episcopalian church goer recently became convicted about. …Johnson now supports the Coalition For Life, the pro-life group with a building down the street from Planned Parenthood. Coalition volunteers can regularly be seen praying on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood. Johnson has been meeting with the coalition’s executive director, Shawn Carney, and has prayed with volunteers outside Planned Parenthood.

“…I saw that baby trying to get away from the probe that the doctor was using…I just wanted to make it stop…I could see it twisting and just saw it crumble…I will never do this again.”

My daughter volunteers for Coalition For Life. They are thrilled to welcome Abby. I have always known that the ultrasound, the window to the womb, would change hearts. It is in truth that we will one day open the eyes of all to the horror that is the destruction of our greatest gifts, our children.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Republicans don't go protesting as a rule. They have jobs and families and their religion, if they have one, involves God, not the State. So Republicans are often not too sophisticated when it comes to organizing or participating in political protests, rallies and events. In contrast the Left practices 'activism' from an early age, in high school and college, they have seminars and classes sponsored by various groups endowed with other people's money. My neighbor recently went to Colorado for a 2 week workshop sponsored by MoveOn. Community Organizing is political organizing, and lets not forget unions. Republicans have nothing to match it, and I see the same mistakes perpetuated by Republicans and Conservatives (NOT the same thing!) and even those of libertarian bent.

I am not an expert on this stuff, but the following are a few suggestions.

1 - Do not show up at rallies or protests with a misspelled sign

Nothing says "Ignoramus" than waving around a sign with obvious spelling or grammar errors. It makes you look like a dumbass, reflects poorly on the people around you AND your cause.

Yes, people will notice. Not only will people notice, but the staff of the newspaper or TV station will be looking for it, and you and your sign will be prominently displayed in any news coverage.

Yes, its a big deal. Images are important in media and ideological opponents will focus in any flaw or mistake one makes. Journalists, as a rule, are liberal democrats and they will do their level best to make hay of it. It might even end up on the internet where you will be the butt of jokes.

There are plenty of online dictionaries available, so there is no excuse for not spelling correctly.

2 - Give one sentence to reporters and shut up

Before you go, have a one liner prepared. If a reporter asks you to say something to the camera, you'd better already have that something in mind, don't make it up on the spot. Be ready. If you don't want to talk to a reporter, or haven't thought about it, then politely decline. You will have FIVE SECONDS, no more. No matter how long you speak or how brilliant your point, it will be edited down to 5 seconds, so there not only is no point whatsoever in going on longer. Its a mistake to do so.

I know, it feels good to get it off your chest. Its nice to have someone listen to your opinion. Don't be deluded. The video or audio of your statements will be edited has harshly as possible. Your sentences will be cut short and taken out of context. The only thing you can do is be polite, smile - DON'T be angry or upset, control your breathing - deep slow breaths. Give your one sentence prepared statement of no more than 7 or 8 words. Then thank the nice reporter and zip it.

Do not let the reporter bait you into saying more, they just want you to chatter so they can edit out anything intelligent you have to say leaving the most banal five seconds. They hope you will say something foolish. Resist the lure to chat.

This is hard. Most of us are taught to be polite and friendly from childhood. The reporter will be smiling at you and seem interested. You must exercise your will.

3 - Take a camera and record the event. Count heads

Take pictures of the event and people, try to get a good account of how many people are there. Take pictures of the media and any counter demonstrators.

Media types will make an effort to minimize your numbers, they will focus in on scattered individuals, take shots from a distance and edit it down. They will avoid getting shots of the best signs or most effective chants. Don't let them get away with it. Share your pics and vids with bloggers or alternative media. Post them on Facebook. Get your viewpoint out there. Don't allow J-school graduates to write the history they want people to know.

Get shots of the crowd at its height, if you try for a head count as people are already leaving, then its too late.

4 - Don't mix your messages

If you are at a rally or protest for one issue, don't mix that issue with others. Sure, others might totally agree with you on that second issue, but not everyone will. Even if 90% of people agree, there will be 10% who will not. You're going to annoy or lose those supporters. Don't assume that everyone there for one issue will agree with you on every other position you have. For example, if you attend a Tea Party against government spending, don't start in on Immigration. Stay focused.

Particularly important if you are speaking publicly at the engagement. Remember that Reagan said that a fella who agrees with him on 80% of the issues is his friend.

5 - Make it pithy and positive

Smile. Be polite. Don't be angry, especially on TV. TV is a 'hot' medium and exaggerates emotion. Its one thing to be passionate, but it honestly takes a professional to bring just the right level of emotion. Reagan was a professional. You are almost certainly not.

Be pithy. Don't blather on hoping that something you say will happen to be memorable. Have your thoughts in order and slogans ready beforehand. Don't make it up as you go. Run your thoughts past someone else. Sometimes what strikes you as pointed or funny in your own mind really won't be.

6 - Dress and appearance are important

Show up dressed appropriately. You are going for a 'non-threatening person who could be living next door' look. This works in both directions. Don't show up dressed in a Brooks Brothers suit, it will give liberals and democrats an excuse to play on resentment and be dismissive. Your Brooks Brothers suit will be noted and used against you, just as a misspelled sign. On the other hand, leave the flip flops and t-shirt with a stupid saying at home. Shower and shave. You don't want to look either scuzzy or affluent.

African-American protestors march past the White House in Washington, DC. Decrying Barack Obama as "white power in black face," hundreds of African-Americans marched on the White House Saturday to protest policies of the first black US president, and demand that he bring US troops home.

Welcome to Rightwingsparkle! The Pro-life movement brought me back into politics. Now I am a conservative activist. Mother Teresa once said: "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person." Person to person. Me to you. Together we can change the world.